Stargazy pie is the legendary dish of Mousehole, a fishing village in west Cornwall, indelibly linked to the festival of Tom Bawcock's Eve held on the 23rd of December. According to local folklore recorded by the Cornish scholar Robert Morton Nance in 1927, a great storm in the 16th century had kept the fishing fleet in harbour so long that Mousehole faced famine; a fisherman named Tom Bawcock braved the storm alone and returned with a haul of seven kinds of fish, which were baked into a pie to feed the village. The pie's defining feature, the fish heads protruding through the crust, is said to be so the fish could 'gaze at the stars' in thanks, though the practical origin is that the oils from the heads baste the pastry and the filling. Nance speculated that 'Bawcock' derives from the French beau coq and may link the festival to older midwinter customs. Whatever the legend's age, the pie and the festival are real, baked each year at the Ship Inn in Mousehole and celebrated across Cornwall.
A robust shortcrust pie of oily pilchards in a sharp, oniony, creamy sauce, the protruding fish heads browned and crisp, their oils having run into the filling. Rustic, fishy, faintly smoky from the pilchards.
The pie's structure is dictated by the fish. Whole pilchards, or sardines, are cleaned but left with heads on, the heads being rich in oil that bastes the filling as the pie bakes. A shortcrust pastry case is lined in a dish, the fish laid in with onions sweated in butter, hard-boiled eggs, cream or milk, and parsley, seasoned with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon. The pastry lid is rolled and laid over, then crucially holes are cut in it and the fish heads pushed through so they sit above the crust, gazing upward; some versions also push the tails through. The pie is baked at around 200 degrees C until the pastry is golden and the filling set, the protruding heads browning and crisping while their oils run down. The result is part dish, part tableau, and the heads are eaten, not discarded.
Variations
Some versions use a mix of fish rather than pilchards alone. The tails are sometimes pushed through the crust alongside the heads, making a 'two-eyed' pie. A lighter version uses fillets with the heads set decoratively on top.
On the Palate
Where Stargazy Pie sits in the British flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6
How it's made
7 steps · 45 min
- 16 min
Clean 6 whole pilchards or large sardines, leaving the heads on; rinse and pat dry.
- 25 min
Roll 400g shortcrust pastry; line a 20cm pie dish with two-thirds of it, reserving the rest for the lid.
- 35 min
Soften 2 sliced onions in 30g butter, then spread in the pastry case with 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs, 2 tbsp chopped parsley, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon.
- 45 min
Lay the fish on top, heads pointing outward around the edge; pour over 150ml double cream.
- 56 min
Roll the remaining pastry, lay it over, and cut a hole above each fish head; gently push each head through its hole so it gazes upward, crimp the edges.
Watch outPush each fish head through its own hole so it sits above the crust gazing up — the heads' oil bastes the filling as it bakes, so keep them proud of the pastry.
- 68 min
Glaze with beaten egg and bake at 200 degrees C for 35 to 40 minutes until the pastry is golden and the fish heads browned.
Watch outBake until the pastry is golden and the fish heads have browned — that's your doneness cue; pale heads mean the pie's not set inside.
- 75 min
Rest 10 minutes; serve in wedges with new potatoes and green beans.
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.
